Jump to content

Selby

Coordinates:53°47′01″N1°04′04″W/ 53.78361°N 1.06778°W/53.78361; -1.06778
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, seeSelby (disambiguation).

Selby
From the top left:The Crescent,Selby Town Hall,aerial of Selby andSelby Abbey
Coat of arms
Selby is located in North Yorkshire
Selby
Selby
Location withinNorth Yorkshire
Population17,193[1]
OS grid referenceSE614323
•London162 mi (261 km)SE
Civil parish
  • Selby
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSELBY
Postcode districtYO8
Dialling code01757
PoliceNorth Yorkshire
FireNorth Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
Websitewww.selbytowncouncil.gov.uk
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°47′01″N1°04′04″W/ 53.78361°N 1.06778°W/53.78361; -1.06778

Selbyis amarket townandcivil parishinNorth Yorkshire,England, 12 miles (19.3 km) south ofYorkon theRiver Ouse.At the2021 Census,it had a population of 17,193.

The town was historically part of theWest Riding of Yorkshire;[2]from 1974 until 2023, it was the administrative centre of theSelby District.

Selby once had a largeshipbuildingindustry,[3][4]and was an important port on theSelby Canal,which brought trade fromLeeds.[5]

History

[edit]

Foundation

[edit]

Archaeological investigations in Selby have revealed extensive remains, including waterlogged deposits in the core of the town dating from the Roman period onwards. It is believed that Selby originated as a settlement called Seletun, which was referred to in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicleof AD 779.

The place name 'Selby' is first attested in a Yorkshire charterc. 1030,where it appears asSeleby.It appears asSelbic. 1050.The name is thought to be a Scandinavian form of Seletun, meaning 'sallow treesettlement'.[6]

Development

[edit]

The town of Selby is on the main route north from theMidlandsand is the traditional birthplace ofKing Henry I,fourth son ofWilliam the Conqueror,in 1068/69;[7]the connection is supported by William and his wifeMatilda's unique joint charter ofSelby Abbey,far to the north of their usual circuit of activities, which was founded forBenedict of Auxerrein 1069[8]and subsequently supported by thede Lacyfamily. KingHenry Iis reputed to have been born there inc. 1068.A notable feature of the abbey is the 14th-century Washington Window, featuring theheraldic armsof the ancestors ofGeorge Washington,the firstpresident of the United States.The design is often cited as an influence for theStars and Stripesflag.

It is said that the abbey was founded when Benedict saw three swans on a lake in Selby, which he took as a sign of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and that is why the official crest of Selby Abbey is three swans.[9]Selby Abbey was closed in 1539 as part of theDissolution of the MonasteriesunderHenry VIIIand the majority of the buildings have since been demolished.[10]The central nave of the abbey church survived and in 1618 it became the parish church of Selby.

During theEnglish Civil Warthe Royalist garrison of Selby was captured by Parliamentarians in theBattle of Selbyon 11 April 1644.[11]There are other historical sites, such as thecholeraburial groundon the north side of the abbey,[5]the market cross and the local school,Selby High School.The Market Place has existed since the early 14th century, when the market was moved away from the monastery churchyard.The Crescentwhich curves eastwards from James Street, was planned in the early 19th century by a local man, John Audus, after he sawLansdown CrescentinBath,Somerset.[5]

Since 2000

[edit]

Selby is expanding. New houses and shops are being built on the outskirts as far as the bypass, which has resulted in the loss of some trade from the town centre. Meanwhile, the riverfront is being revamped with modern housing and fashionable flats.[12]

Rail crash

[edit]
Main article:Great Heck rail crash

The 2001Great Heck rail crashis also often referred to as the Selby rail crash. It happened a few miles south of Selby, at the village ofGreat Hecknear theM62 motorway,and Selby was the closest major town to the accident site. On 28 February 2001 a vehicle crashed off the M62 down an embankment onto a railway track, where it was struck by a passenger train heading to London. The accident was then compounded by a second collision involving an oncoming goods train.[13]

Hobson murders

[edit]

Selby and its surrounding area came to national prominence once again through another tragedy on 18 July 2004, this time through four exceptionally violent murders carried out by formerrefuse collectorMark Hobson.Hobson, 34 at the time, killed his girlfriend, Claire Sanderson, 27, and her sister Diane at a flat in the nearby village ofCamblesforth.He subsequently murdered an elderly couple, James and Joan Britton, at their home in the village ofStrensall,nearYork.Hobson was later sentenced to life imprisonment, with the trial judge recommending that he should never be released; theHigh Courtlater agreed with this recommendation.[14]

Governance

[edit]
Selby Town Council
Seal
Type
Type
History
Founded1974
Leadership
Wendy Nichols (L)
Gill Bell
List of councillors
Structure
Seats17 councillors[15]
13 / 17
4 / 17
Elections
Plurality-at-large
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Selby Town Hall
Website
selbytowncouncil.gov.uk
Former town council offices, Selby
Selby Town Hall

At the lowest level of governance is Selby Town Council. The town is divided into three electoralwards,north, south, each represented by five councillors, and west, represented by seven councillors. These 17 councillors are responsible for burial grounds, allotments, play areas and some street lighting. Elections to the town council are held every four years. The Mayor of Selby is elected annually by the members of the town council.

From 1974 to 2023, Selby was administered as part of a two-tier council system bySelby District Council.The town was represented by seven councillors on theDistrict Council,two each for the west and south wards and three for the north ward.[16] On theNorth Yorkshire County Councilthe town was part of the Selby Barlby county division, which elected two representatives to thecounty council.[17]

In April 2023, both councils, along with all district councils in North Yorkshire, were replaced byNorth Yorkshire Council.[18]Theunitary authoritynow provides all the services previously provided separately by the two councils.

In the United Kingdom Parliament, Selby formed part of theSelby constituencyuntil the2010 general election,when it became part of the new seat ofSelby and Ainsty.It was represented by Conservative MPNigel Adamsuntil he resigned in June 2023, triggering a by-election held in July. The 20 July 2023 by-election was won by Labour candidateKeir Mather.[19]

Geography

[edit]

Selby lies on thetidalRiver Ousein a natural area of Yorkshire known as theHumberhead Levels.The main roads that cross at Selby are theA63fromLeedstoHulland theA19fromDoncastertoYork,though the A19 and A63 have no longer met in Selby itself since the opening of the SelbyBypassin 2004. The River Ouse isnavigableupstream as far as York so theold toll bridge,by which the A63 crossed the river at Selby, had to allow for this. For many years the swing bridge in Selby was a notorious localbottleneckbut since the opening of the Selby bypass congestion in the town has been relieved.

The importance of Selby as a market town has declined in recent decades and its short-lived prominence as the centre of theSelby Coalfieldhas also waned. Selby is close to bothYorkandLeeds.Its popularity as a tourist destination, owing toSelby Abbey,has led to a large amount of development and renovation in the town and surrounding area.[20]

Theresidentialareas of Selby have also been subject to expansion and development. A significant development called Staynor Hall continues to the south East of the town, with other developments in the Holmes Lane area and around the villages of Brayton, Barlby and Thorpe Willoughby. More have been built at various points along the riverfront, the result of an ongoing project to improve an area that had been largely derelict since the decline of the shipbuilding industry.

Floods

[edit]

In recent years there have been serious flood problems in Selby and the adjoining village ofBarlby.The threat in the Barlby area has been alleviated to some extent by work on improved flood barriers following the major flood of November 2000.[21][22]

Religion

[edit]
Selby Abbey,west front
Main article:Selby Abbey

Selby Abbeyis one of the largest parish churches in Britain and is larger than several cathedrals.[23]

There are various other Christian churches in the town that offer community and differing styles of worship: King's Church,[24]St Mary'sRoman CatholicChurch,[25]PortholmeMethodist/URC Church,[26]and St James' Church.[27]Edge Community was founded in 2009 for the Flaxley Road community,[28]andThe Salvation Armyopened The Church at the Crossroads on the Abbotts Road estate in 2015.[29]

Brayton has St Wilfrid's Anglican Church[30]and the Methodist Chapel[31]and All Saints' Church is in Barlby.[32]Thorpe Willoughby has St Francis Church.[33]

Selby Churches Together set up and run the Selby and District Food Bank.[34]

Economy

[edit]

Much of the historical wealth of the town is based on its position on the banks of the tidalRiver Ouse.Selby used to have a largeshipbuildingindustry and was an important port on theSelby Canal,which brought trade from Leeds. The Selby Canal links the River Ouse at Selby to theRiver Aireat Haddlesey.[35]The replacementGreenpeacecraft (1989–2011), bearing the nameRainbow Warrior,was built in Selby in 1957 as a fishing boat.[36] Selby's location allowed vessels to be launched into the river. This often required the more unusual technique of launching the vessels side-on into the river owing to lack of space for a more conventional stern-first or bow-first launch. One famous vessel of the Cochrane and Son's shipyard of the town is the preserved trawlerRoss TigeratGrimsby'sNational Fishing Heritage Centre.Cochrane launched their last vessel into the Ouse in 1998, a historical occasion which people around the area went to see. After Cochrane had closed the massive cranes still stood over the skyline of Selby until 2001, when very strong winds blew them down. Most of the shipyard buildings are still standing (as of February 2014) and the site, along with interviews with former employees and archive film, was featured in a 2013 video production 'Cochranes of Selby'. The site of the shipyard is currently home to many small businesses, housed in the buildings once used to build the Selby ships.

BOCMmills atBarlby,near Selby

For a time Selby was the leading coal-miningarea in the UK and featured some of the most advanced mining technology in Europe. It was the first new mine in the UK for decades and seen as a rejoinder to widespread concern that the British mining industry was effectively shutting down, particularly following the defeat of the1984–85 miners' strike.

Wistow Colliery,which was part of theSelby Coalfield,holds the UK record for coal mined in one week—200,743 tonnes in 1995. The 110 square miles (280 km2) Selby Complex, employing 3,000 miners plus contractors and ancillary staff, closed on Friday 14 May 2004 despite rising demand for coal in the UK.UK Coal,the pit's owner, said closure was due to rising costs caused by deteriorating geological conditions and the falling price of coal. In its final years the company listed a £30 million loss on the plant.

Although much of the infrastructure of shipbuilding and coal mining remains both in and around Selby, both industries have long since been defunct. Now the main income for the area is derived fromarable farmingand as a commuter area forLeeds,WakefieldandYork.

Market Cross in central Selby

In recent years Selby has seen the development of new shopping areas both in the town centre and on the outskirts. The Abbey Walk Shopping Centre was developed on recreational land that runs parallel to the town centre. The expansion not only increased the volume of town-centre shops but also provided large-scale, convenient parking for the town centre. In more recent years the Three Lakes Retail Park has opened on the outskirts of town and continues to expand.[37]Two of the town's supermarkets,TescoandMorrisons,are looking to expand their stores, the latter meaning the resiting of the Abbey Primary School.[38]

On 14 September 2005, Selby District Council was conditionally granted outline planning permission for astate of the artscience facility to be built on the site ofBurnGliding Clubbut these plans did not come to fruition.[39]

Transport

[edit]
Selby railway station

Selby is the transport hub for the local area; it has a bus and railway station running services to many places around the area.

Train services fromSelby railway stationrun directly toLondon King's Cross,Leeds,Liverpool Lime Street,Manchester Piccadilly,YorkandHull.Services are operated by severaltrain operating companies;these areLondon North Eastern Railway,Northern Trains,TransPennine ExpressandHull Trains.

Bus services are operated predominantly byArriva Yorkshire,which runs a range of local services, as well as longer-distance routes toGoole,Leeds,Pontefract,Wakefieldand York. Thornes Independent operate two routes toHensallandHemingbrough.[40]

The Ouse Swing Bridge

In July 2001, construction began on the Selby by-pass, which had been authorised for development in 1993. The by-pass runs from theA19atBarlby,along the southern perimeter of Selby, joining theA63atThorpe Willoughby.The project was delayed owing to technical difficulties with theswing bridgeover the River Ouse, but was eventually completed in July 2004.

Culture and sport

[edit]

Selby Town Hallhas been running a music venue since 2003, with regular performances of music, dance, drama and comedy and local band nights,[41]with an annual Battle Of The Bands final, which in 2009 sold out in 12 hours,[42]seeing local band Leonard's Revenge crowned victors.

Selby Leisure Centre

There have been four cinemas in Selby, with the last one closing in the early 1980s. In 2009 a community group established a cinema project called Selby Globe. The group is also working with local community groups in securing theAbbot's Staith,a 15th-century warehouse currently onEnglish Heritage'sAt Risk Register.It is expected that the development of the Abbot's Staith could offer opportunities for social, educational, historical and economic solutions for the town while also promoting tourism.[43]

Flaxley Road

Selby's major sporting team isSelby Town F.C.('the Robins'), playing in the Northern Counties East Division One at the Flaxley Road Stadium. As a result of a sponsorship deal with a local business, the stadium is now known as the Fairfax Plant Hire Stadium.[44]The club was founded in 1919 and their most successful season was perhaps 1953–54, when they won theYorkshire Football Leagueand reached the first round of theFA Cup– meetingBradford Park Avenueand getting their highest ever attendance of 7,000 fans.[45]

Arugby unionclub, Selby RUFC, plays at Sandhill Lane Stadium.[46]Sandhill Lane Stadium is currently undergoing construction work to create a new seating stand overlooking the first team's pitch, and a gym and new changing rooms are being added to the members' bar and existing club bar. Selby RUFC have five open-age teams and have veteran and junior set-ups. Selby 1st are currently in Yorkshire League Division One. In the season 2008–09 Selby U10s won the Gullivers Plate at Twickenham, the U16s got to the final of the Yorkshire Bowl and Selby 3rds reached a North Yorkshire final. Selby also has arugby leagueclub, Selby Warriors, which plays at The Rigid Containers Sports Ground, Foxhill Lane[47]and the Selby Rugby League Referees Society.[48]

Selby Cricket Club, which shares Sandhill Lane Stadium, has four senior league teams, with the 1st and 2nd XI playing in the York and District Senior League, the 1st XI in Division 4 and the 2nd XI in Division 5. The 3rd XI play in Division 4 and 4th XI play in Division 5 of the York Vale League. The team runs two junior teams, the under 11s and 15s, which both play in the York and District Junior League, and an evening league team in the Howdenshire Evening League (West Division).

Selby and District Motor Club has its own clubhouse at Breighton Airfield on Sand Lane. Meeting on Tuesday evenings, its members participate in Road Rallies, Stage Rallies, Sprints, Autotests and Production-Car Trials. Members discuss motor sporting events and regularly show videos. The club organises an annual Road Rally called the Three Swans Rally, based on local roads and forming a major part of local championships.[49]

Media

[edit]

Local news and television programmes is provided byBBC YorkshireandITV Yorkshirefrom theEmley MoorTV transmitter.

The town's local radio stations areBBC Radio York,Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire,Capital Yorkshire,YO1 Radio,and Selby Radio which is a community based radio station.[50]

Selby's longest-established newspaper is theSelby Times,owned and published by Chronicle Publications along with its sister paper theGoole Times.The company previously owned theSelby Postand purchased the title from Johnston Press when they ceased publication of the paper in August 2013.[51]Published weekly, the paper costs 60p and covers the Selby district, including the town centre and villages such asSherburn-in-Elmetand as far asTadcaster.[52][53]

In 2014, despite the shift to online news, TheGoole and Selby Timestogether were only one of three newspapers in the country actually to increase print sales.[54]TheGoole Times(incorporating theSelby Times) saw a rise of more than three quarters to 15,045 compared with the same period in 2013.[54]

TheGoole TimesandSelby Timesreceived an unprecedented 1,000 toys for their annual Christmas toy appeal in December 2017.[55]

In 2019 TheSelby Chroniclewas relaunched as an online-only newspaper.[56]

Twin towns

[edit]

Selby is twinned with:

Notable people

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/yorkshireandthehumber/admin/north_yorkshire/E04012523__selby/
  2. ^"History of Selby in West Riding | Map and description".Visionofbritain.org.uk.Retrieved25 November2020.
  3. ^ "Cochrane and Sons".gracesguide.co.uk.Retrieved20 June2009.
  4. ^ "Vessel makes a splash (870)".Selby Times.Archived fromthe originalon 20 February 2012.Retrieved20 June2009.
  5. ^abcSelby Civic Society (1998).Selby. A brief guide to places of interest.Selby: Selby Civic Society.
  6. ^Ekwall, Eilert.The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names.p. 411.
  7. ^ "Your 'Excellent' Council".Selby District Council. Archived fromthe originalon 14 June 2011.Retrieved12 June2009.
  8. ^C. Warren Hollister,Henry I(Yales English Monarchs) 2001:32f.
  9. ^However a more likely explanation is that the three swans – symbols of purity – represent the triple dedication of the Abbey Church to Our Lord, Our Lady and St Germain. "Abbey History – One of England's Best Churches".selbyabbey.org.uk.Retrieved12 June2009.
  10. ^ "North Yorkshire – History – Selby's past revealed".BBC.Retrieved22 June2009.
  11. ^"The 11th of April 1644 AD, Battle of Selby, famous dates in History".information-britain.co.uk.Retrieved12 June2009.
  12. ^ "Living Streets – Renaissance 2009".Selby District Council. Archived fromthe originalon 14 June 2011.Retrieved21 July2009.
  13. ^Wainwright, Martin (28 February 2001)."The carnage at Great Heck".The Guardian.Retrieved1 July2019.
  14. ^"Killer Hobson loses tariff appeal".BBC News.30 November 2005.Retrieved31 January2016.
  15. ^"Meet Your Councillors".Selby Town Council.Retrieved22 November2021.
  16. ^ "Your 'Excellent' Council".Selby District Council. Archived fromthe originalon 23 May 2009.Retrieved21 June2009.
  17. ^ "Find my councillor".North Yorkshire County Council. Archived fromthe originalon 27 June 2009.Retrieved21 June2009.
  18. ^"North Yorkshire Council: New local authority begins work".BBC News.1 April 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  19. ^"Big defeats for Tories but party holds on to Uxbridge".BBC News.21 July 2023.Retrieved21 July2023.
  20. ^"- Renaissance Works On Track for Summer Finish".Selby District Council. Archived fromthe originalon 14 June 2011.Retrieved21 July2009.
  21. ^ "Selby Flood Defences Near Completion".New Civil Engineer.18 January 2008.Retrieved22 June2009.
  22. ^ "Huge increase in flood defence spending for Yorkshire".Environment Agency. Archived fromthe originalon 5 June 2011.Retrieved22 June2009.
  23. ^"For one week only, a town's heritage moves from past to present".The Yorkshire Post.17 June 2010.Retrieved14 November2017.
  24. ^"King's Church Selby".Kingschurchselby.org.Retrieved22 November2021.
  25. ^"St Mary's Selby".stmarysselby.org.uk.Retrieved18 November2014.
  26. ^Pascoe, Martin."Portholme Church – Methodist / URC LEP".Portholmechurch.org.uk.Retrieved9 November2017.
  27. ^"St James Selby".St James Selby.Retrieved9 November2017.
  28. ^"Who we are – edge community".Edgecommunity.org.uk.Retrieved9 November2017.
  29. ^Staff."Selby: The Salvation Army".The Salvation Army.Archivedfrom the original on 12 October 2018.Retrieved12 October2018.
  30. ^"St Wilfrid's Parish, Brayton, North Yorkshire".Stwilfridsparish.com.Retrieved9 November2017.
  31. ^Pascoe, Martin."The Methodist Church – Goole & Selby Circuit".Gooleselbymethodist.org.uk.Retrieved9 November2017.
  32. ^"All Saints, Barlby".A Church Near You.Retrieved9 November2017.
  33. ^"St Francis Church | Thorpe Willoughby".Retrieved30 January2024.
  34. ^"Selby & District Foodbank – Helping Local People in Crisis".selbydistrict.foodbank.org.uk.Retrieved9 November2017.
  35. ^ "IWA: Selby Canal".Waterways.org.uk.Retrieved1 February2016.
  36. ^ "The Rainbow Warrior".Greenpeace.Archived fromthe originalon 31 March 2008.Retrieved15 April2008.
  37. ^ "Three Lakes Retail Park, Selby – Retail developers and leaders in urban regeneration".Dransfield Properties Limited.Retrieved22 June2009.
  38. ^ "School could make way for shops".BBC News.9 March 2005.Retrieved22 June2009.
  39. ^ "Hopes high for plan to keep gliding club".Selby Times.Archived fromthe originalon 22 April 2013.Retrieved22 June2009.
  40. ^"Selby Bus Services".Bus Times.2023.Retrieved1 September2023.
  41. ^"Town Hall Rock and Roll".York and North Yorkshire.BBC. 19 September 2007.Retrieved31 January2016.
  42. ^Harris, Richard (23 February 2010)."Selby Bands in battle line up".York Press.Retrieved31 January2016.
  43. ^Stead, Mark (15 September 2009)."New role for Abbot's Staithe building in Selby".York Press.Retrieved31 January2016.
  44. ^"Club Information".Selby Town F.C.Retrieved28 June2020.
  45. ^"Club History".Selby Town F.C.Retrieved9 August2023.
  46. ^ "Selby RUFC – Homepage".pitchero.com.Retrieved1 November2009.
  47. ^ "Pennine ARL: Selby Warriors".pennineleague.co.uk.Retrieved4 April2016.
  48. ^"Welcome".Selby Rugby League Referees Society.Retrieved29 November2010.
  49. ^"Selby & District Motor Club » 50th Anniversary year".Selbydmc.org.uk.Retrieved8 July2014.
  50. ^"Selby Radio | Selbys Dedicated Radio Station".Selbyradio.co.uk.Retrieved4 January2024.
  51. ^"Weekly titles in Selby merged after sale by Johnston Press".HoldtheFrontPage.Retrieved17 February2018.
  52. ^"About – Goole and Selby Times".Goole Times.Retrieved9 November2017.
  53. ^"Selby Times & Post".British Newspapers Online.15 September 2013.Retrieved17 February2018.
  54. ^ab"ABCs: Only three paid-for weeklies increase print sales".HoldtheFrontPage.Retrieved16 February2018.
  55. ^"Goole and Selby Times readers donate more than 1,000 Christmas toys".HoldtheFrontPage.Retrieved16 February2018.
  56. ^"The Selby Chronicle".The Selby Chronicle.Retrieved16 August2019.
  57. ^ab"Twin town visit nears".The Press.30 August 2007.Retrieved30 May2019.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toSelby, North Yorkshire.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide forSelby.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Selby&oldid=1243141869"